play around

idiom

1

: to have sex with someone who is not one's husband, wife, or regular partner

He's not the kind of guy who plays around.

—often + on

She's been playing around on her husband.

—often + with

She's been playing around with one of her coworkers.

2

: to deal with or treat something in a careless way

When it comes to protecting his family, he doesn't play around.

—often + with

You can't play around with diabetes; it's a very serious disease.

3

: to use or do something in a way that is not very serious

It's time to stop playing around and get busy.

—often + on

I spent the evening playing around on the piano/computer/Internet.

—often + with

I'm not really a painter; I just like to play around with paints.

4

: to move or change something or to think about something in different ways often in order to find out what would work best

—+ with

I see you've been playing around with the living room furniture again.

The supervisor played around with our work schedules this week.

We played around with the idea for a while but eventually realized that it just wouldn't work.

Examples of play around in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

By picking up chunks of the environment, DK can play around with different combinations that can lead to progression or finding secrets (of which there are hundreds). —Christopher Cruz, Rolling Stone, 16 July 2025

Al Hilal are able to play around him and spread the ball wide, gaining an overload and almost scoring from the eventual cross. —Thom Harris, New York Times, 24 July 2025

Latte the shy cockapoo stands quietly in a faraway corner as the other dogs play around her. —Lydia Patrick, MSNBC Newsweek, 18 July 2025

Fitzpatrick at least gives the Dolphins a versatile piece to use in the secondary, capable of covering ground on the back end, moving down into the box and covering the slot as a nickel cornerback in some three-safety sets defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver may play around with. —David Furones, Sun Sentinel, 10 July 2025

Rhymes for play around

• aboveground
• battleground
• belowground
• paperbound
• turnaround
• ultrasound
• underground
• wraparound
• abound
• aground
• astound
• background